Addition agent for lubricating oils



Patented Nov. 3, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE *f'asooaos ADDITION AGENT FOR. LUBRICA'IING OILS Gordon D. Byrkit, Ponca City, Okla, assignor to Continental Oil Co Ponca City, Okla,

a-corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application September Serial No. 358,303

9 Claims. (Cl. 260-408) My invention relates to an addition agent for lubricating oils and to .an improved lubricating my copending application, Serial No. 226,966, filed August 26, 1938.

Present-day mechanical .devices require lubri eating oils of high film strength. It has been found that the highest quality straight hydrocarbon lubricants have a film strength insufficient for emcient use in present-day mechanical deces. cants used under conditions of high pressure, low speed and/ or high temperatures have a tendency to break down due-to their low film strength. with high pressures between the rubbing surfaces, the body of the lubricant is squeezed out and only a thin film remains. It is readily seen that with a low film strength lubricant there is a tendency for the lubricant to break down, de-

in contact and cause seizure.

It is well known that mineral lubricating oils are deficient in oiliness, which is the most important character of the lubricant when used under.

may existwhen for mechanical reasons the lubri- I cant pump is not functioning properly or when the lubricant feed line is clogged with foreign matter.

In starting idle mechanical equipment which is lubricated from a sump by pumping or circulating the lubricant, there is always a short period of time in which the rubbing surfaces must operate under conditions of dry friction if ordinary hydrocarbon lubricants are used. With dry friction the wear on friction surfaces is extreme;

and during cold weather, when the lubricant is sluggish or during periods when the lubricating system is not functioning properly-for one reason or another,'rubbing surfaces may not only suffer considerable wear but may be damaged to the point where they must be'replaced. By means of my invention, it is possible to produce a. material,- which whenblended with hydrocarbon lubricants has the very important property of reacting with the metal surfaces, penetrating and/or absorbing on the metal, leaving a film of lubricant with high oiliness characteristics, which remains High quality straight hydrocarbon lubricompose, and allow the rubbing surfaces to come i -'January 30, 1934, describes a lubricating oil com- 40.

time the machine has been idle. The high 0111- ness film gives very smooth operation, which may be easily discerned by the experienced operator and lubricating engineer. 1

One object of my invention is to provide materials, which when added to mineral lubricating oils improve their oiliness and load-carrying ability and enable the oil to lower the between the rubbing surfaces.

Another object of my invention is to provide a material, which when blended with the hydrocarbon oils will produce a lubricant which will maintain a very low coeflicient of friction when process a'lubricant is produced which does notdrain off the rubbing surfaces when idle, thereby providing a lubricating film on the rubbing surfaces at all times and being of great value to the life of the machine in cold weather starting, when the lubricant is verystiff and sluggish.

A still further object of my invention is to pro vide a material, which when blended with a lubricant enables it to produce a more nearly; constant coefficient of friction, thereby insuring smoother engine operation.

It is well known to the art that the addition of certainchlorinated or otherwise halogenated organic materials to mineral lubricants improves the character of the latter in these various respects. For example, U. S. Patent 1,944,941, is-

sued to Bert H. Lincoln and Alfred Henriksen on prising in combination a hydrocarbon oil and a small quantity of certain. halogenated esters, which improve the oiliness and load-carrying ability of the mineral oil, confer upon it penetrative lubricity characteristics and enable it to reduce the coefficient of friction between rubbing surfaces.

I have found that material excellently suitedfor the purpose of improving these characteristics of hydrocarbon oil may be obtained by the interof organicacids. These waxy. esters may be naturally occurring, such as camauba wax, or

synthetic, such as octadecyl stearate. Such maon the metal surface irrespective of the length of 55 terials as these may be chlorinated or otherwise friction at ordinary or elevated temperatures.

In the specification and appended claims, I mean by the term "waxy esters" to include only the more or less pure esters of organic acids,

- which are soft to hard solids at ordinary temperatures. I mean to include all the naturally occurring waxes, such as carnauba, beeswax, candelilla, bayberry, Chinese wax, coca wax, cottonseed wax, cow-tree wax, flax wax, Ghedda, gondang, Japan, montan, ocuba, palm, pisang, raphia, rose, sugar cane, wool wax, and spermaceti as well as synthetic waxes of the ester type,

have found that these materials are crude mixturesof chlorinated waxes and invariably contain unchlorinated esters, monochlorinated esters, dichlorinated esters, and polychlorinated derivatives. On crystailizing' these crude chlorination mixtures from an organic solvent or mixtures of organic solvents, for example, acetone, the least soluble portion consists of unchlorinated wax. The next least soluble portion halogenated by direct treatment with the halogen their melting points and, to a certain degree, the greater the extent of chlorination, that is. the more chlorine atoms per molecule, the lower the melting point. The decrease in melting point is stepwise. This permits me to separate unchlorinated waxes from the monochlor waxes, the monochlor waxes from the dichloro waxes, and the dichloro waxes from the trichloro waxes. In the appended claims we refer to these purified halogenated waxes as homogeneously halogenated waxy esters.

Having selected the wax in accordanc with the desired final product, I chlorinate the wax until approximately that amount of chlorine is absorbed which will produce monochlor compounds, if these are desired, or larger amounts of chlorine to produce diand higher poly-chloro waxes when these products are desired. For example, in the manufacture of a monochloro wax containing 18-24 carbon atoms per molecule, I

select a wax having a melting point of approxichloro compounds, dichloro compounds, trichloro pounds to the desired chlorinated product. I

consists of monochloro wax. The next portion consists of dichloro wax and so on.

In carrying out the method of my invention, the use of a crude mixture of chlorinated waxes will not give the same results as a homogeneously chlorinated wax. Even though the appropriate amount of chlorine is introduced into a wax to form a monochloro wax, the crude chlorination mixture will contain in addition to small amounts of chlorine and hydrogen chloride, and the desired monochlor wax, unchlorinated wax and more highly chlorinated waxes.

I have found that, on introducing chlorine into the higher waxy esters; the formation of the 7 .diand higher polychlor waxes begins when only 5 per cent by weight oi! chlorine has been introduced. This formation of di-' and higher po ychlor waxes proceeds more rapidly than the chlorination to the monochlor compound so that the proportion of the latter in a crude chlorinated mixture decreases rapidly and is at a maximum when about 10 per cent of chlorine mately 120 degrees F. I introduce intogthis wax about 10 per cent of added chlorine which will form a mixture containing as an average about the same weight of chlorine as the monochlor product. This may vary from not less than 8 to not more than 12 per cent, without bein disadvantageous. The percentage of chlorine introduced into the wax will" be less in the case of the higher molecular weight waxes. The chlorination may be accomplished by any suitable method and any appropriate apparatus. I prefer to melt the wax and agitate thoroughly, while the chlorine gas is introduced into contact therewith' so as to be well distributed through the liquid. The heat of reaction is ordinarily ample to maintain the mixture in the liquid state without further heating. I make provision for the escape of quantities of hydrogen chloride gas which are evolved and for unreacted chlorine.

, When a sufiicient quantity of chlorine has been has been introduced. At this point, a typical chlorinated mixture will contain about 25-30 per cent of unchlorinated wax, 40-50 per cent of monochlor wax, and about 20-25 per cent of dichlor wax, as well as higher chlorinated waxes.

Even when as much as 24 per cent by weight of chlorine is introduced into a wax, about 10 per cent of unchlorinated wax. is' still present in the mixture. The removal of unchlorinated wax from the crude chlorinated mixture is the first step in preparing homogeneous monohalogen compounds and higher halogenated compounds, but it will be obvious that the chlorine compounds, when separated from-the unchlorinated wax form a crude mixture of waxy esters in various stages of chlorination.

The chlorination of most waxy esters lowers introduced, I blow the mixture with air or other inert gas, such as carbon dioxide, until the hy-' drogen chloride and free chlorine are substantially removed.

Even though the appropriate amount of chlorine is introduced into thewax to form a monochlor wax, as I have pointed out above, it will be found that the crude chlorination mixture contains in addition to the by-product hydrogen chloride and the desired monochlor wax, also unchlorinated wax and more highly chlorinated waxes.

The unchlorinated wax is separated from the air-blown mixture by pressing at such temperature that the chlorinated waxes are largely liquid and the unchlorinated wax is mostly solid. The appropriate temperature to which the mixture must be chilled before the pressing operation begins will depend upon the character of the waxy ester used initially and may vary considerably. For example, when a wax having a melting point of 120 degrees F. is used as the starting material, a temperature of about -90 degrees F. is suitable for the separation of unchlorinated wax from the mixture.

Other separation processes. for example, sweating, may be employed to separate the solid, unchlorinated wax from the liquid chlorinated waxes.

' The liquid chlorinated waxes will consist largely of monochlor wax and dichlor wax. These may be separated by crystallization from acetone or any other suitable solid, using a solventchlor wax ratio of from 1 to 1 to 20 to 1. The

- pressing, settling, manner.

asooaos solution is prepared by warming and is then chilled to approximately minus degreesto minus degrees F. to precipitate the chlorinated waxeswhich are then removed by filtering,

or in any other suitable These are of three classes containing several types depending on the position of the halogen atoms.

The monochlor wax is precipitated out 01' the solution nearly quantitatively and its separation from the dichlor and polychlor waxes present isreadily accomplished.

Instead of acetone, such selective solvents as methyl-ethyl ketone, acetone-benzene mixtures, acetone-methylene chloride mixtures or various halogenated solvents may be employed. It will be obvious that the quantity of solvent and the temperature to which th solution should be chilled will depend upon the particular materials being processed and may be readily determined empirically. The halogenated solvents serve to aid in the precipitation of unchlorinated waxes, while benzene increases the solubility of the more highly chlorinated materials.

Any of the relatively pure chlorinated-waxes may be used in carryingoutmy invention. One

of these waxes is condensed-with the anhydrous metal salt of an organic acid. The organic acid may beat any type: that is, aliphatic, aromatic, or heterocyclic or may belong to more than one of these classes. I have found that the use of halogenated organic acids for this purpose gives products which are particularly eflicient in improving the characteristics of mineral lubricating oil when blended with them. The chosen organic acid is converted to the sodium salt or. other metallic salt by means of neutralization with a.

suitable base, such as sodium hydroxide, barium hydroxide, etc. and rendered anhydrous by intensive drying or, if necessary, fusion.

My condensation products are of several types depending on the structure of the starting materials: I l A. Diesters from monohalogenated esters.

These are of three types, depending on the position of the halogen.

1. Halogen in the acid radical. These esters are of the type,

RCH(O.CO.R')(CHz)nCO2 R" I derived from the metal salt R'COQM and the monochloro-ester, acncucrni 1.00m"; a may r be H or an organic radical; 11 may be zero or any" integer. These esters are distinguished-in that they hydrolyze to form an alcohol, R'fOH, an

acid, RCOaH, and a hydroxy acid, acnomcrn) nCOaH Examples of monohalogenated esters which may be used are:

(a) Octadecyl alpha bromostearate (b) Monochloro-carnauba wax (c) Monochloro-beeswax 2. Halogen in the alcohol radical.

1. Both halogens in the alcohol radical. These esters are of the type,

acoiawoconw:

in which R' is a trivalent organic radical; Th esters are derived from the dichloro-esters RCOzR'Clz. These esters are distinguished in that they hydrolyze to form two acids, RCOaH 'and -R"C02H, anda trihydroxy organic compound R/(OH): or a hydroxyketone. Examples oi. dihalogenated esters which may be used are:

(a) 2,2-dichloroethyl stearate (b) Dichloro-carnauba wax (c) Dichloro-candelilla wa'x '2. Both halogens in the acid radical.

These esters are 01' the type, (RG02) zR'COiR'Z' .in which R is a trivalent organic radical. The

dichloro-esters from which these are derived have the formula R'Cl2.COzR". These esters are distinguished in that they hydrolyze to form an alcohol, R"OH, an acid, RJCOzH, and a dihydroxyacid R'(OH) aCOzH or a keto-acid if both'halogens were originally on the same carbon atom.

Examples of dihalogenated esters which maybe used are:

(0) Methyl alpha, alpha-dichlorostearate '(b) Dichloro-beeswax (c). Dibromo spermaceti (d) Methyl alpha, beta-dichlorostearate (e) Ethyl cinnamate dibromide (f) Methyl alpha, iota-dichlorostearate 3. .One halogen in each radical. These esters are of the type,

in which R" andR" are divalent organic radicals.- I

The starting chloro-esters .have the formula R'CLCOm'Til. These esters are distinguished in that they hydrolyze to form an acid, RCOzH, a

hydroxyacid, R'(OH)CO2H, and a glycol, R"(OH)2 which may be vicinal or disjoined depending on the position of the original halogen atoms. Examples of dihalogenated esters which These esters are of the type, RCOzR'QCOIt", I

derived from the metal salt R"CO2M and the monochloro-ester, RCOaR'X in which R is a divalent organic radical. These esters are distinguished in that they hydrolyze to form two acids, RCOaH and R"CO:H and a; glycohR'iOI-I):

which may be vicinal or disjoined depending on the position or the halogen. Examples of monohalogenated esters which may be used are:

' (a) Beta-chloroethyl stearate (b) Monochloro-octadecyl stearate (c) Monobromo-carnauba wax n. Esters from dihalogenated esters.

may be used are:

(a) Beta-chloroethyl alpha-chlorostearate (b) Gamma-chloropropyl iota-chlorosteajrate' (c)v Dichloro-candelilla wax j edsoastoremovealloronlypartoithehalogem- Furthermore, the acid whose sodium or other metal salt is used in'the condensation may or may not contain'halog'en itseli'. Halogen from this source will remain in the final product. For example, I may use sodium o-chloro-benzoate as a-reagent or I may. use a'chlorwax' containing 23" per cent halogen and treat it with insuflicient quantities of metal salt or for insufficient time. or at too low a temperature to remove all the halogen from the chlorwax. fInj order'to obtain substantiallyhalogen-iree esters as-final products, I treat my halogen compound at a miiiciently high temperature vfora sumcie'nt time witha suitable excess of a halogenrree sodium salt as described below.

For-use in lubricating oils, it is desirable that the compounds employed should have a vapor pressure of less than atmospheric at a temperature of about 250 degrees F. Compounds having this vapor pressure will not vaporize during use in an internal combustion engine or as a crankcase lubricant.

The condensation of the chlorinated wax with the anhydrous sodium salt is effected by heating these two components in the presencelof small amounts of an acid anhydride and a tertiary base, such as pyridine, or dimethylaniline. If the organic acid used is cheaply available in the form of the anhydride, that anhydride is preferably.used as a condensing agent; thus, for example, if acetic acid is used to prepare the anhydrous sodium salt, then acetic anhydride is preferably used as the condensing anhydride;

however acetic or any other cheaply available acid anhydride .is suitable to effect the condensation.

The use of a tertiary base, such as pyridine or dimethylaniline, serves to increase the rate of reaction between the components so as to efiect the condensation in a shorter time.- In general, the condensation is efiected by heating the components to a temperature of from 100 to 200 degrees 0., usually about 140 degrees C. for 8 to 16 hours; however, in the presence of the tertiary base, the-condensation is completed in a much shorter time; namely, from 4 to 8 hours at this temperature.

The condensation product is separated from the reaction mixture by washing with water and drying the produce by any suitable means, such as, for example, blowing with air at an elevated temperature.

The resulting condensation product is blended with a hydrocarbon oil of any character and the resulting blend is considerably improved in film tor oil, sperm oil, cottonseed oil, lard oil, corn oil, I

and synthetic oils including hydrogenated oils.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of my claims. It is further obvious that various, changes may be made in details within the scope of my claims without departing from the spirit of my invention. It is,

therefore, to be understood that my inventionis not to be limited to the specific details shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. As an addition agent for the improvement of the lubricating qualities of a hydrocarbon oil, a synthetic material obtained by the condensation of a homogeneously halogenated waxy ester with an anhydrous metal salt of an organic acid.

2. As an addition agent for the improvement of the lubricating qualities of a hydrocarbon oil, a synthetic material obtained by condensing a homogeneously chlorinated waxy ester with an anhydrous salt of an organic acid.

3. As an addition agent for the improvement of the lubricating qualities of a hydrocarbon oil,

a synthetic material obtained by condensing a homogeneously-chlorinated waxy ester with an anhydrous sodium salt of an organic acid in the presence of an organic acid anhydride and a tertiary base.

4. A synthesis method for the preparation of addition agents for lubricating oils, including the steps of condensing a homogeneously chlorinated waxy ester with an anhydrous metal salt of an organic acid in the presence of an organic acid anhydride.

5. A synthesis method for the preparation of addition agents for lubricating oils including the steps of condensing a homogeneously chlorinated waxy ester with an anhydrous metal salt of an organic acid in the presence of an organic acid anhydride and a tertiary base.

6. A method of synthesizing addition agents for use in improving the lubricating qualities of hydrocarbon oils, including the step of condensing a homogeneously chlorinated waxy ester with an alkali metal salt of an organic acid in the presence of an acid anhydride and a tertiary base.

'7. A method of making addition agents for v hydrocarbon oils including the step of condensing homogeneously chlorinated octadecyl stearate with sodium orthochloro benzoate in the presence of acetic anhydride and pyridine.

8. A method of making an addition agent for I hydrocarbon oils including the step of condensing a homogeneously chlorinated waxy ester with anhydrous sodium chloro acetate in the presence of acetic anhydride and pyridine.

9. A method of making addition agents for hydrocarbon oils including the steps of condensing homogeneously chlorinated carnauba wax with anhydrous sodium chloroac'etate in the presence of acetic anhydride and pyridine.

GORDON D. BYRKIT. 

